Vignette of a Beginner - Intro to Digital

Photography. I'm learning. I still feel like a newbie a lot of the times. Sometimes I feel pretty knowledgeable when I can explain what an f-stop is or a little diddy about compelling composition. But with each photography adventure, I come home with a whole heap of lessons learned and new questions to ask. And depending on my camera, those lessons can be completely different.

I'm really glad I learned to love photography through film. I'm a hands on person and being able to manually adjust the settings on a camera gives me a real sense of ownership with my learning and ownership of my work. I feel like there has been a lack of effort on my part when I just click away at a scene using a digital camera. But after determining each frame of film costs me as much as 50 cents a shot with purchase of film and cost of developing, I'm a little more thoughtful in my shooting.  I love the harmonious workings of a manual camera. Everything from how I set up a shot through the viewfinder and twisting the aperture ring on the lens, to hearing the mechanical click of my shutter. I'll admit, sometimes when there's no film in it, I open the back of my camera and watch my shutter open and close on a shutter speed of 8 or so because I think it's fun to see how slow it closes then I'll go up to a shutter speed of 250 and watch how fast it closes. That's pretty nerdy to admit, right? It's probably so nerdy most of you are wondering what in the world I'm talking about.

Since the temporary death of all three of my manual film cameras though...I've ventured into Digital Photography. And as hardcore as I'd like to believe I am of a film photographer, digital has it's practical uses especially for a beginner. For one, I feel a lot more freedom in trying things out. I don't have to worry about every shot counting because it's FREE to take a shot. And this has allowed me to learn a lot faster and a lot more from my mistakes. When I took up my husband's Canon 40D DSLR, I started with just manual settings because that's what I was used to. I just began using the camera the same way I used to use my manual. I continued to mess around with my exposure, over exposing and underexposing the same shots. This has been the most helpful in learning light for me. I've always had it in my head that great photographers understand light. So I've been obsessed with light lately but with film I always forgot my exposure settings so had nothing to compare and learn from.

Then I dabbled in editing...Oh the editing. I had no clue I could manipulate a photo so drastically. Ok, well I did because my husband is practically a pro at editing in photoshop. But I really have started getting into this editing thing in Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom. So much easier than the Photoshop I learned a couple years ago. First venture into editing a family reunion was most definitely overedited as I was trying every setting I could find in Lightroom. But I'm learning to edit my edits. I must say that editing is a pretty intimate and instantaneous way to learn and grow from my photos and I like it. The ability to develop and print in a dark room is limited to say the least with a toddler in tow.


I have about 3 rolls waiting to be developed that I took last spring. When free babysitters become available there is always something more pressing to take care of it seems. So I am certain I will have no clue what my aperture and shutter speed were 6 months ago.

Here's a few of my digital pictures I've edited in Lightroom.

So that's just a little bit about my journey recently. I've learned that digital is a great way for a beginner photographer to learn from their work. And it's a load of fun manipulating my photography bringing it to whole other level almost. But there's something about a manual camera and 35mm film that just can't be replaced.

When age catches up...

So it has been awhile. Life gets crazy then it seems to get even crazier. But the one thing I've been able to fall back on for that rare moment sanity is my photography. It's become like an insatiable hunger. I don't feel complete without a camera in my possession whether it's one of my film SLR's or my iPhone or my son's plastic camera that plays a song every time you click the shutter button. Every night I have 5 different photo ideas running through my head before I fall asleep.

However, this summer has proven to be a bit of a bummer.  My two 35mm SLR's went kaput on me. It began with my No. 1, my Canon AE-1 getting completely jammed. I took her to the doctor and was diagnosed with....being old. Apparently the the innards needed to be oiled....$135 to be completely serviced. So my poor Canon would be out of commission for a while. Good news was I finally knew what to tell people I wanted for a Christmas.

So then I decided to give my dad's old Yashica FX-3 a run. I didn't think I'd love it as much as my Canon. This Yashica was a little worse for wear with some of the glued on faux leather peeling off and too many dings to count. But once I developed that first roll of film I was hooked! This camera had the most amazing light leaks! First camera I've shot with that had these light leaks and became fun to see where the leaks fell in my various frames. The pictures below were some of my favorites from the time I spent at the cabin this summer. 

So a lot of the summer was spent shooting with this new gem....until the film advance lever quit that is. The lever wasn't pulling the film anymore! It was done. I still have hope for being able to fix this one myself. Just haven't had a quiet moment to be able to sit down and operate.

This brings me to the thought I really should learn how to fix manual cameras. It makes sense to me that if you get into a hobby that has significantly expensive upkeep costs....maybe you should learn to upkeep a bit yourself. Unless your too busy because you have a toddler who runs you around in circles, literally. There's a lot of running involved in Duck, Duck, Goose when there's just 2 people. At this is how I am planning on rationalizing dishing out a possible $135 for my Canon.

A Place to Start

I'm a photographer. Notice I didn't say a good photographer. But maybe a growing photographer would be a better description. I love it. I'm obsessed with it. I dream about what I want my next shot to be. What may set me apart from most of mainstream America is I've become obsessed with a dying medium that has been associated with photography for over 150 years...film. This has become more apparent as I find less places to develop my film or even buy it. I don't even know anyone who still shoots with film other than me.

Let me see if I can paint a picture for you. I take my 1970's Asahi Pentax K1000 camera in my hand. It feels heavy. It feels like it could weather a nuclear holocaust. This thing is built to last. I pull up on my winding knob and pop a button. The back of the camera opens. I take a roll of film and insert it into one side of my camera. I pull the plastic film tab over to the other side and begin to wind it into place. I close the back and pull the lever. The exposure counter starts at 0. I look through my viewfinder and see the light meter bounce up and down as I move my camera into place. I focus using my focus ring watching my subject become blurry then clear. I turn the shutter speed dial a little bit to the right. Then I turn my aperture ring a little to the left. I line up my subject so I get the right light and angles. And "click." The picture I had in my head is now preserved onto film inside this metal box.

                               My husband and I using a 1939 Kodak Vigilant Six-20 and my beloved Pentax K1000

I love this tactile, personal approach to capturing a vision. It's all me. Even the developing of the film is hands on. This is everything I was never able to do with my point-and-shoot camera. I didn't know what aperture or shutter speed meant. It was all automatic. I could take a bazillion pictures and hope for a good one somewhere in there. I feel more invested in perfecting the perfect shot when I use a film camera.

I could go on and on about other things I have found I love about film and my camera. But those can be future posts. Right now, I'm gonna lay out my plan.  While I've been at this for over a year, I still feel like a newbie to this world of photography. I want to continue to get better and so I'm documenting this journey. Each photo opportunity, each developed roll of film, each new camera I try, each story I capture, I want to express my thoughts about it and learn as I go. So here I go!